Stadium trusses three months behind schedule

### ODT Online Sat, 31 Jul 2010
Stadium trusses schedule set back
By Chris Morris
Work to fit giant steel roof trusses to the Forsyth Barr Stadium is months behind schedule, but Carisbrook Stadium Trust (CST) chairman Malcolm Farry insists the setback is not critical. Mr Farry yesterday confirmed the first of five arch trusses – part of the roof steelwork linking the north and south stands – was not expected to be hoisted into position until next week.
Read more

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### ODT Online Sat, 31 Jul 2010
Already planning stadium centenary
By Chris Morris
It might still be a year away from completion, but those building the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin are already planning 100 years ahead. Members of the Dunedin Venues Management Ltd board – who together are tasked with overseeing the completed venue’s operations – visited the stadium site yesterday to mark an impending milestone.
Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

Moving to super-council status would open the books!

### ODT Online Thu, 29 Jul 2010
Super-council idea dismissed
By Chris Morris
Dunedin City Council chief executive Jim Harland believes there is still no case for a super council in the South, despite Local Government Minister Rodney Hide unveiling plans by which to consider further council mergers.

“I guess it comes back to what is the problem with the current governance.”
-Jim Harland, Dunedin City Council

Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

Otago Polytechnic safer to stay home

Institute of Sport and Adventure building accommodation

### ODT Online Fri, 30 Jul 2010
Stadium site too expensive
By Allison Rudd
Otago Polytechnic has decided against moving its Institute of Sport and Adventure to the Forsyth Barr Stadium, saying fit-out and lease costs are higher than it can afford.

The indicative fit-out costs of $800,000 and annual lease costs of at least $75,000 were “higher than we can afford”. The move also posed “too much risk long term due to lack of ownership, the necessary length of occupation to recoup the fit-out costs and some access issues.”
-Otago Polytechnic

Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

Carisbrook ideas

### ODT Online Fri, 30 Jul 2010
Ideas for ‘Brook’s future vary widely
By David Loughrey
The Dunedin public’s ideas for the future of Carisbrook encompass a wide variety of possibilities for the sports ground and surrounding properties, and consensus on the issue may be hard to pin down. A submission period on the future of the historic ground closed this week.
Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin social housing

Recent discussion of social housing for Dunedin has been taking place on another thread.

What if? has copied and linked the previous conversations to this thread.

2010/07/29 at 9:33 pm
kate said:
{substituting new link from the DCC website -Eds}

Social Housing Strategy (PDF, 1.6 mb, new window)
The Social Housing Strategy provides a platform for the consideration of social housing issues right across Dunedin. Social housing is defined as the provision of accommodation assistance for individuals and families whose housing needs or circumstances are not adequately provided for by the private sector. The Strategy also directly addresses issues regarding the Dunedin City Council’s own social housing stock.

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

Perceived conflicts of interest, what’s new?

### ODT Online Thu, 29 Jul 2010
Plan set out for Sports Academy
By David Loughrey
Final planning for the New Zealand Academy of Sport, South Island, to move to the Forsyth Barr Stadium site in Dunedin could begin within weeks, and building could start soon after next year’s Rugby World Cup. While the proposal was still in a feasibility stage, academy chief executive Kereyn Smith said yesterday the organisation hoped for a two-storey building at the northeast corner of the stadium, either connected or with easy access to the stadium.

The $3.8 million project hinges on a resource consent decision for demolition of three bays of the former art gallery at Logan Park, a decision that could be announced this week.

Read more

*****

Cr Hudson might like to think upon where exactly he stands in relation to the CURRENT Logan Park Art Gallery redevelopment application for resource consent (applicant: Dunedin City Council).

His finding funds towards, ah, let me see, putting another floor on the old Logan Park Art Gallery building (in the interests of whom??) while the Council is openly in another process with parties to conserve and redevelop the building, has been at the height of disingenious. What’s that phrase about Left Field, being completely out of the game park.

Time to leave your elected representative role at Council, Mr Hudson. Yeah, putting that well before I start in on the interests of Ms Smith.

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

‘Devious or incompetent’ – hard to tell if the books are closed

NEWSFLASH 31.7.10 – go to comment

### ODT Online Thu, 29 Jul 2010
Opinion: Rates levels alright here, says councillor
By Richard Walls
Does the Dunedin City Council have a recipe for increasing rates and debt, and are its elected officials either devious or incompetent – as some of the council’s critics suggest? Richard Walls answers some specific criticisms.

Mr Oaten departs from the script, however, when he says Dunedin Venues Ltd “is to be part of the DCHL (Dunedin City Holdings Ltd) group”. Indeed, he does so deliberately knowing full well from a direct discussion with Mr Athol Stephens, general manager, finance and corporate, as well as exchanges with me on the What If Stadium website, that DVL, like its sister company DVML (Dunedin Venues Management Ltd), is not part of the DCHL Group.
-Richard Walls

Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

D Scene: Dunedin City Council housekeeping

### D Scene 28-7-10

Register to read D Scene online at http://fairfaxmedia.newspaperdirect.com/

Call to liquidate STS (page 3)
By Wilma McCorkindale
[In brief] Dunedin City Council (DCC) has called for the last rites to be said over Stop The Stadium (STS), and applied to have the incorporated society liquidated. The DCC said STS was insolvent, and unable to pay the remaining $9,860.91 court costs owing after STS lost stadium legal battles between the two organisations last year. The application is due to be heard on August 30. STS chairman Dave Witherow said there was nothing fair about the move and STS would defend the action.
{continues} #bookmark

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Post by Elizabeth Kerr

Rugby continues to be expensive… and devisive for hospitality

### ODT Online Tue, 27 Jul 2010
Road realignment near new stadium begins
By David Loughrey
Work on the State Highway 88 re-alignment around the Forsyth Barr Stadium, in Dunedin, began in earnest yesterday, with diggers moving on to what will become the site of a new roundabout.
Read more

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### ODT Online Tue, 27 Jul 2010
‘Fan zone’ planned for Octagon
By Chris Morris
Dunedin’s Rugby World Cup “fan zone” is likely to be an on-again, off-again party. Dunedin City Council marketing and communications agency manager Debra Simes told the Otago Daily Times it was “unlikely” a permanent fan zone would be in place in the Octagon for the duration of next year’s tournament.
Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC Media Release – Brand Dunedin

Dunedin City Council
Media Release

Seeking ‘Dunedin’ Stories

Last reviewed: 24 Jul 2010 7:00am

The ‘Insiders Dunedin’ social media site www.InsidersDunedin.co.nz will be launched next Monday, 26 July, with a ‘Tell us your story’ competition for Dunedin residents. This will be the first stage of the Brand Dunedin marketing strategy.

Prizes will be awarded for the best 30-second video, best photograph and best mini-story about Dunedin, local characters or ‘hidden gems’. The competition will run until Saturday 11 September 2010 and winners will be announced on Wednesday 15 September.

It is hoped the campaign to discover Dunedin ‘stories’ will engage the public, encourage participation and stimulate a sense of parochialism all of which will reinforce Dunedin beliefs and values while uncovering ‘hidden gems’ that could be used to promote the city in local, domestic and international campaigns.

Members of the public will be invited to vote for their favourite story, photo and video on the Insiders Dunedin on the homepage. Entrants will be encouraged to have their friends and families join and vote.

The competition launches the beginning of a new Dunedin campaign and is part of a two-year process in which the 8 brand partners have worked together to develop a genuine city-wide collaborative approach to all future Dunedin city marketing.

The brand partners are Allied Press, Dunedin City Council, Dunedin Venues, Otago Chamber of Commerce, Otago Polytechnic, Otago Southland Employers’ Association, Tourism Dunedin and the University of Otago.

The aim of Brand Dunedin is to create a profile that will enable Dunedin to present itself in a compelling and cohesive way and attract like-minded people to consider the city as an attractive place in which to live, work, do business, study and to visit.

Contact DCC on 477 4000.

DCC Link

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

What brand?

The $500,000 non brand for insiders. Yeah what she said.

### ODT Online Mon, 26 Jul 2010
Insiders invited to share city’s stories
By Nigel Benson
The Dunedin City Council will launch the first stage of its Brand Dunedin marketing strategy today. The “Insiders’ Dunedin” campaign is inviting residents to come forward with Dunedin stories which will “stimulate a sense of parochialism” and engage people. The subsequent stories will be placed on a website and used to promote the city in local, domestic and international advertising campaigns.

Dunedin residents are encouraged to visit www.insidersdunedin.co.nz with stories, videos and images, plus help identify the city’s local characters and “hidden gems”.

People can also write to the Otago Daily Times with their stories at PO Box 517 with “Insiders’ Dunedin” on the envelope.

DCC city marketing team leader Jennifer Hooker yesterday told the ODT that the campaign would be promoted throughout the greater Dunedin area starting today.
Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC Media Release – Contract let for Town Hall upgrade

DCC Media Release
Town Hall UpGrade – Contract Let, Work Due To Start

This item was published on 21 Jul 2010.

Jim Harland, DCC Chief Executive, has announced that the contract to upgrade the Dunedin Centre/Town Hall/ Municipal Chambers complex has been awarded to local company, Amalgamated Builders Limited (ABL).

There were three complying tenders – from ABL, Lund South and Naylor Love. ABL were awarded the contract at $35,660,000.

The contract is a fixed price contract and will include the re-development of the Glenroy Auditorium as an upgraded conference facility with associated break-out spaces in the Municipal Chambers building along with substantial functional and operational improvements, including fire egress, sprinklers and ventilation throughout the Dunedin Centre/Town Hall complex.

The upgrade also includes the installation of new data and theatre services.

Mr Harland said “This is good news for a local business and we are looking forward to working together with ABL on this important project. It’s vital that we have a contractor sympathetic to the needs of upgrading this complex in one of the city’s most important heritage precincts and our past experience of working with ABL gives us every confidence this will be the case. The upgrade is expected to meet the Council’s specific demands for the future use of the Town Hall, Dunedin Centre and Municipal Chambers for generations to come.”

Work is due to start in the next two weeks and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2012 with the expectation of providing up to 150 jobs.

ABL has most recently been the lead contractor on the Chinese Garden and is currently engaged on the Regent Theatre re-development.

There were no tenders received from outside of Dunedin.

Contact DCC on 477 4000.

DCC Link

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Post by Elizabeth Kerr

SH88 realignment – update

### ODT Online Wed, 21 Jul 2010
Negotiations on land near realignment
By David Loughrey
A piece of land near the State Highway 88 realignment in Dunedin is holding up completion of land negotiations in the area, and the release of details. But the issue would not stop construction of the road, Dunedin City Council property manager Robert Clark said yesterday.

“There is nothing holding up the building of the road, but there is some adjacent land we are looking at, which we may do something with.”
–Robert Clark

Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Another heritage award established

### ODT Online Wed, 21 Jul 2010
Award for heritage buildings
By David Loughrey
An award has been established to recognise Dunedin building owners or developers who “sympathetically” re-use heritage buildings in the city.

The Dunedin City Council has come under fire for its policies dealing with built heritage. The proposed demolition of a group of Princes St buildings is the latest issue to attract publicity.

Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

Calvin Oaten does it again!

### ODT Online Mon, 19 Jul 2010
Opinion: Debt accounting deception
Calvin Oaten has been sifting through the DCC’s accounts and finds nothing but dismay. “No wonder Dunedin’s rates are so high.” The avalanche of demands on the local public purse is staggering. Combine that with the seemingly inevitable growing weight of council bureaucracy and the internal pressures that brings, and the city has a recipe for both increasing rates and increasing debt.
Read more

See related comments posted yesterday at DCC: Residents’ Opinion Survey

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The future for the whole of Dunedin City will involve the retirement of debt in ways we’ll probably find unpalatable. Some of us will be dead and in the ground by then.

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin’s future – no sticky buns

UPDATED

### ODT Online Mon, 19 Jul 2010
Strategies for city’s future progressing
By David Loughrey
The future of Dunedin’s central city is to come under the microscope as the city council sets its sights on the future shape of the area that includes the prime retail zone. Early work on the central-city strategy, approved last week, will be developed alongside the South Dunedin retail centre strategy, with the two initiatives expected to play an important role in shaping the city’s future.
Read more

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Today, Dunedin City Council hosted the “Your City Our Future” Forum 2010 at the Dunedin Centre. Representatives from a large number of local communities, businesses and organisations were invited to brainstorm what their ideal Dunedin City would be in 30 years’ time.

It was good to see councillors participating in the group sessions!

Two presenters kicked off proceedings:

Political journalist Colin James considered the geo-political environment and the ‘big issues’ facing Dunedin with his presentation, ‘A very brief 30-year future scan’.

Architect and urban designer Anthony Flannery gave his presentation on ‘Futures Thinking: Considering spatial planning and sustainability’.

See tomorrow’s Otago Daily Times for more.

Mayor Peter Chin brought the forum to a close by talking about the skimpy morning tea and lunch provided for forum participants – he had been guided by an elected representative’s concern [about council spending and or credit card use?]. Unfortunate. The mayor needs a scriptwriter – oh, but he has one. Rodney?

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### ODT Online Wed, 21 Jul 2010
‘Small changes’ can improve Dunedin
By David Loughrey
Cities that made the most of links with their universities were cities that succeeded, a keynote speaker told a forum on the future of Dunedin yesterday. Presenting a well-designed city to the rest of the world was not only essential, but could be a simple process, the managing director of Auckland firm Chow Hill Architects, Anthony Flannery, said. The “Your City, Our Future” forum, at the Dunedin Centre, was the first meeting of a major Dunedin City Council consultation process to help decide the city’s future direction.
Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

Friday: nominations open for local body elections

### ODT Online Tue, 20 Jul 2010
Local body elections to be initiated from Friday
By David Loughrey
This year’s local body elections will begin in earnest on Friday, when nominations open for candidates for the Dunedin City Council and community boards, the Otago Regional Council and the Southern District Health Board.

An information evening has also been announced for intending candidates for the city and regional councils on August 2 in the Fullwood Room at the Dunedin Centre at 7pm.

Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

How do these things happen, and get PRINTED?

Aside from the matter that certain galleries live in their own inspired world and would offer or snaffle funding to beat down the competition, hello DCC, where were you to ensure equal representation of local galleries? A fine mess.

Who is paying for the maps already printed, who bears the cost? Perhaps the same precious galleries who thought to make themselves privileged.

### ODT Online Sat, 17 Jul 2010
DCC to revisit galleries guide
By Nigel Benson
A Dunedin City Council-funded art map is to be scrapped after causing a furore in the local arts community. The map, reported in the Otago Daily Times on Monday, has infuriated local artists and gallery-owners for being incomplete and arbitrary.
Read more

Related Post:
13.7.10 Things we love things WE HATE

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

Social media is coming at you DCC

### ODT Online Fri, 16 Jul 2010
Media message for council staff
By David Loughrey
Social media is free, instant, widely used, and a tool local governments can no longer ignore if they want to engage the public and fulfil their responsibility to be accountable, Northland Regional Council community relations general manager Jason Dawson says. The Northland council is using Twitter, for instance, to give the results of council votes as they happen, answer the public’s questions and provide facts and figures from its various initiatives.
Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC: Residents’ Opinion Survey

WAS IT GOOD FOR YOU

From the council website:

“A select group of 4500 residents were randomly selected to complete the Survey. These residents received a printed copy of the Survey questionnaire between 30 April and 7 May 2010 and may also [have chosen] to complete the Survey online.

To ensure the statistical validity of the Survey results, responses from residents randomly selected to complete the survey [were] analysed separately to responses from residents who independently chose to complete the survey.

[The] survey closed on Friday, 28 May 2010.”

2010 RESULTS
2010 Residents’ Opinion Survey Results (PDF, 1.7mb, open in new window)

2009 RESULTS
2009 Residents’ Opinion Survey Results (PDF, 950kb, open in new window)
Summary points (PDF, 250kb, open in new window)

Last reviewed: 14 Jul 2010 9:17am

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DScene – wtf the survey’s wrong?

Register to read D Scene online at http://fairfaxmedia.newspaperdirect.com/

### DScene 14.7.10
Dissatisfaction trendy: council (page 4)
By Wilma McCorkindale
Disliking Dunedin City Council is trendy, the DCC believes. The latest Residents Opinion Survey gave several aspects of the council’s performance the thumbs down – but that could be because dissatisfaction was trendy this year, an executive summary said.
{continues} #bookmark

Council reviewing card (page 5)
By Wilma McCorkindale
Dunedin City Council (DCC) is reviewiing its managerial credit card use because $7000 worth of coffees bought by staff appear questionable.
{continues} #bookmark

Purchasing cards were introduced a number of years ago to improve efficiencies in the council’s accounts payable system, reducing manual invoicing, and to increase the transparency of staff spending. The resulting savings had been equivalent to the cost of employing a full time staff member.
-Jim Harland, Chief Executive

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Talk: Dunedin on Dunedin (page 8)
Letters to the editor
Tourism Campaign by John Milburn, Owner, Monarch Wildlife Cruises
Re Tourism Campaign Disappointing (D Scene, 30/6/2010). It is unfortunate that this article was perthaps less than balanced and contained a number of inaccuracies. Whilst the campaign may not have done a lot for accommodation providers, it was a success for a number of tourism operators.
{continues} #bookmark

Plod’s patch With Paul Kennedy (page 9)
Policing Carisbrook
Part of community policing encompasses working at major sporting events with the latest being the recent farewell All Black test against the Welsh at Carisbrook.
{continues} #bookmark

-What if? Eds. We love this quote! FuBar for the one person crowd.

“Getting into the middle of the terraces to make an arrest or eviction was always a difficult logistical task which won’t be an issue at The Forsyth Barr Stadium with its one seat, one person layout cutting out the rough and tumble of days gone by on the terraces.” -Paul Kennedy

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Note: “Fubar” is an acronym for “Fucked up beyond all repair” or “Fucked up beyond all recognition”. The stadium and the survey have something in common?

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Things we love things WE HATE

### ODT Online Tue, 13 Jul 2010
We’re not such a satisfied lot
By David Loughrey
More Dunedin residents are dissatisfied than satisfied with the performance of their council for the first time since surveys began in 1994. The 2010 residents’ opinion survey, released yesterday, showed 35% were satisfied with the overall performance of the Dunedin City Council, while 38% were dissatisfied.

Some of the city’s favourite facilities – its Botanic Garden, public libraries, museum, and rubbish collection service – shone through, with percentage figures in the high 80s or low 90s.

Read more

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### ODT Online Tue, 13 Jul 2010
DCC credit card spending revealed
By Chris Morris
SPECIAL ODT INVESTIGATION
The Dunedin City Council has racked up a $534,500 credit card bill on coffees, gifts, travel and other expenses in the past three years, new figures reveal. The council opened its books to media this afternoon, following a request for staff credit card information by the Otago Daily Times.
Read more

Full details in the ODT tomorrow.

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### ODT Online Mon, 12 Jul 2010
Contemporary art spaces put on the map
By Nigel Benson
Dunedin contemporary art will be well and truly on the map when a new art spaces guide is released this week. The map has been developed by local public and commercial galleries to promote interest in contemporary art.
Read more

Do you want to know how many Dunedin galleries WEREN’T consulted by this smart little consortium of aesthetes.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Goodbye to great store buildings in Parry St

Which ones, you ask???

We’re told that the Shaw Savill store is due for demolition in September this year, to make way for the realignment of SH88 around the stadium.

Thumbnail: Shaw Savill & Albion Co Wool Store, Parry Street. The Fletcher Trust Archive.

Photo: http://www.fclarchives.co.nz/item.php?id=30060

We hear “they might retain a wall or some other remnant among the landscaping, so maybe this at least could be encouraged”.

“The brick building next door by architect Henry McDowell Smith for Fletchers looks as though it will stay, although it has been vacated by Downer Engineering in the past week, so there is some uncertainty regarding its future.”

Thumbnail: Fletcher Holdings Offices, Parry Street. The Fletcher Trust Archive.

Photo: http://www.fclarchives.co.nz/item.php?id=33710

In my submission to the proposed Notice of Requirement [‘for a designation’] for the proposed realignment of SH88, heard at the same time as the Stadium Plan Change, I successfully sought that historic heritage should be recorded and photographed prior to any demolition and copies of the information lodged with Hocken Collections and NZHPT. The hearing commissioners made this a condition of the NoR.

Is DCC taking care to hire the appropriate professional to do this recording work…
This week I start checking with the local authority.

Note:
By legal definition, just because a building with heritage values isn’t listed in the Dunedin City District Plan (Schedule 25.1) or registered by New Zealand Historic Places Trust does not mean it isn’t historic heritage.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC, DCHL, CST, DVML, DVL?

Q: What are they? A: They cost TOO MUCH.

### ODT Online Wed, 7 Jul 2010
DCC sets up company to own stadium
By David Loughrey
A new Dunedin City Council-owned company has been set up to own the Forsyth Barr Stadium. To be called Dunedin Venues Ltd (DVL), the company will buy the stadium from the council after the project is completed next year.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

ORFU changes? They’d have to be massive, mind

### ODT Online Wed, 7 Jul 2010
Changes are being made: ORFU
By Chris Morris
The Otago Rugby Football Union is close to completing a series of changes aimed at satisfying its new landlord, the Dunedin City Council. The council earlier this year presented the union with a list of recommended changes aimed at sharpening the union’s governance and management performance, after the completion of an independent review.
Read more

Post by Elizabeth Kerr